Finishing & Screen Printing
FMF Increases Productivity by 500% With an Autobond Mini 76 TPM
Monday 12. January 2009 - The worlds first Autobond Mini 76 TPM has increased productivity at the Fridge Magnet Factory in 2008 by around 500 per cent, according to owner Jason Ince.
The company is Australias leading producer of fridge magnets and had been applying the magnetic material to the printed sheets by hand, until Jason Ince approached Autobond with the idea of making a laminator that could automate the process.
“I spoke to an Autobond engineer at the last Print Expo show in June 2007 and explained what I was after,” says Mr Ince, who formed FMF nearly ten years ago. “Within a few days I had Autobonds managing director John Gilmore on the telephone asking me more about the idea. His enthusiasm for the project was obvious and so I flew over to the UK and visited Autobonds factory in Derbyshire.
“It was immediately clear that John and his team are passionate about pushing forward the boundaries of laminating technology and they readily agreed to develop a facility that would apply the magnetic material to one side of the printed sheet, while applying a normal film to the other. All I had to do was send over a roll of the magnetic material we use. Autobond demonstrated its flexibility and commitment by making a bespoke machine extremely quickly and in the summer we took delivery of the first Mini 76 TPM – a thermal, perfector with a magnetic application facility.”
FMF had been using another make of laminator to apply film and this was quickly relegated to the back room once the Autobond model was commissioned and staff trained, which took only a few days. Autobonds Australian agent Graph Pak was on hand to offer help but Jason Ince says they have only needed to ring for advice once since the Mini 76 TPM went into production. The fridge magnets produced by FMF are sent to all parts of Australia via some 300 resellers. A large percentage of orders are from sheet-fed printers and they normally ask FMF to produce the entire job.
“The Autobond laminator has performed faultlessly and with great efficiency. We handle jobs from three sheets to 30,000 and they all go through the Mini 76 TPM,” says Jason Ince. “We have our own highly experienced graphic art designers and a comprehensive pre-press department. Most people are happy with an electronic proof, although we can send hard copy, colour calibrated proofs if that is required. We operate several Heidelberg sheet-fed presses, while our die cutting facilities enable us to create any shape or size of fridge magnet as well as handle thicker magnetic material.
“We pride ourselves on producing a quality product that will do the job it is meant to. Fridge magnets that incorporate a thin magnetic backing invariably fall off the door when it is opened and we know from research that once someone has picked up a fridge magnet three times off the kitchen floor, they will normally then throw it in the bin.”
Make-ready on the Mini 76 TPM can be carried out using only two or three sheets, so wastage is incredibly low. The compact machine is highly cost effective for short and long runs and the significant pressure and temperature that can be generated in the nip rollers means the laminator can be used successfully with stock printed on digital presses. Sheet sizes from A4 to 76 x 102 cm can be used and in stock weights from 90 gsm – 650 gsm.
“Our whole experience with Autobond has been fantastic,” says Jason Ince. “The Mini 76 TPM is so efficient that our machine could probably cope with Australias entire requirement for fridge magnets. When the worlds markets have recovered we will be looking to sell into other countries. The Autobond laminator will be key to this expansion.”